She
by impavid fool
Summary: The names Alex gives her stick the most. [Alex/Piper]


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1. **Kid**

It's not just a term of endearment.

When they first meet, Piper is young, terribly young. Her naïvety is an inevitable trait, and her smile glows and has so much promise. She's a good girl. She does what she needs to do. In fact, she's just become a graduate of Smiths University, and has come out with a decent grade. Her family are proud, but, now, she needs work. To find a job. The next stage in her adult life, and she's excited, if not a little miffed at how _difficult_ adult life can be.

Alex calls her kid, because her youthfulness and innocence is amusing and sweet. She doesn't bother with "kids" like Piper; she never has. This is usually because she doesn't have the time; kids like Piper need time. They pretend to stand and walk and know where they're going, but, really, they're nervous and insecure and confused. They require a teacher. Someone older, more learned, to teach them how to live without falling. Education, at the end of the day, is useless. Education doesn't equal smarts, knowledge and common sense.

Clearly Piper is smart. But she's still young, and she still looks at Alex as if she's some sort of angel. No one who knows Alex and knows what she does and knows who she is, looks at her that way. She looks at Alex and her blue eyes are so pure and they _glow_. They are wide and desperate for adventure, something she knows Alex can offer. Yet there is also fear, a horrible fear. Piper doesn't really know what she wants; sometimes, she thinks she does, but most of the time she's as clueless as any kid. Alex is older, she's aware of the darkest ways to live, she's a part of it. Piper is younger, far younger, and she has only ever seen sunshine.

When Alex calls Piper "kid", it's affectionate, and she says it so effortlessly; the name of her lover.

2. **Babe**

From the start, Piper hated _anyone_ calling her this. Yet over time, she made Alex the exception and even caught on herself. There have been other "babes" in the past, and Piper doesn't want to know how many; it only makes her eye twitch in envy. When Alex calls her babe, there's a softness to her tone, and Piper realises she only calls her by this name on separate occasions. These occasions are not always determined; they're sometimes random.

Once, when Alex was feeling guilty for working too much and not spending any time with Piper. She called her "babe", and when the name slipped from her lips, Piper felt a rush. The name reminded her she was still important. If Alex could have it any other way, Piper would come first. Except she doesn't have it any other way. It just is the way it is.

Another time, when Piper was upset about losing yet another job. Alex comforted her later that afternoon, told her how brilliant she was, and that those "fucking wankers" she worked for didn't deserve such a competent employee in the first place. It cheered her up slightly, but, strangely, the gentle, affectionate "babe" added to the end made Piper smile at her, and her smile was the type of smile Alex adored.

With Alex, such a name loses its original definition. With Alex, the name is warm and meaningful.

3. **Nerd**

This always makes Piper giggle.

Alex reads novels. Piper tends to prefer non-fiction. Piper also has a degree. Piper has had education,_ good_ education, whereas Alex hasn't. They are opposites in this regard, and, sometimes, it causes a shift in their relationship. One of the first things Alex comes to love about Piper is her willingness to debate, and to deliver a concise argument. Not many people Alex knows can do this, and she certainly wasn't expecting it from a graduate. From experience, Alex isn't keen on graduates. She isn't keen on A-Grade students, and never has been.

That's because they have something she doesn't: recognition. Graduates are recognised for their intelligence because they sat behind a table and wrote on a piece of paper. Dropouts like Alex are frowned at, sneered and looked down upon. It's an insecurity Alex hates to express, but she knows, somehow, Piper has deciphered this already. So when they debate and Piper reminds her how she knows her information, or recommends a book Alex should read which she wouldn't touch with a barge pole, Alex calls her a nerd.

And when she calls her a nerd, Piper giggles, kisses her, and their discussion ceases. On the surface, Piper finds Alex shutting her up like this sweet. Yet whenever she pulls away from their kiss, she sees that insecurity, that lack of confidence and self worth. Alex calls her a nerd because she knows she's not educated, and she knows, possibly, she won't win a debate against someone who has a University degree on her shoulders.

No graduate can make Alex feel this way. But Piper is the exception.

4. **Pipes**

Always.

Always, Piper loves it when Alex calls her this.

When Alex refers to Piper as Pipes, it's intimate. Piper allows _very few_ people to call her this; only those she trusts and loves with her heart can call her Pipes. Effortlessly, without having to try, Alex became one of those people. She calls her Pipes, and it's as if Piper has become a part of Alex's tiny, tiny family –– become a part of her. When Alex calls her Pipes, it's not just loving and romantic. There's more to the nickname than one would think. There's friendship behind it too. She calls her Pipes as a friend, and as the woman who cradles her heart. Piper loves it when Alex calls her this, because whenever Alex does, she's happy, content, and she's okay with them.

Calling her Pipes is crucial. Important.

She is Pipes on a rainy day, when the mood is miserable outside, and life doesn't exist. She is Pipes after a heated argument, when they're holding each other close, and apologising and kissing away their horrible words. She is Pipes when she comes home late, far too late, later than she promised, and yet Piper is still waiting for her, smiling that smile only a kid would wear. She is Pipes when Alex grabs her hands suddenly, kisses her fingertips, and reminds her that she loves her. She is Pipes when things are dark and dreary. She is Pipes in the darkest and most beautiful spaces of her mind.

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**author's note**: Not sure where this came from. I'm exhausted, so this probably didn't come out very well. Either way, it was interesting to write about. Thanks for reading. The "nerd" one is completely headcanon. Actually most of this is. I'll stop rambling.


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